


Meant to Be Loved

by Leahelisabeth (fortheloveofcamelot)



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Adoption, Call it Home Family Zine, Fluff, Foster Care, Found Family, Gen, Grandma Bee, M/M, Panic Attacks, dad Neil, dad andrew, sex work mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:35:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23741659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fortheloveofcamelot/pseuds/Leahelisabeth
Summary: Bee comes for a visit and meets her new granddaughter...and great granddaughter.
Relationships: Betsy Dobson & Andrew Minyard, Neil Josten & Betsy Dobson, Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 8
Kudos: 172





	Meant to Be Loved

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the Call It Home: AFTG Family Zine.

Bee turned off the car and took a deep breath. She was ready and excited for this week but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to savor her last moments of quiet before all the chaos.

One of the window blinds in the house ahead of her twitched open and she knew her moment was over.

Andrew came striding out of the house. He looked good, settled. He had put on a few extra pounds and they lent softness to his frame. The almost smile on his face made him softer still.

“Bee,” Andrew said, nodding to her as she climbed out of the car.

“Andrew!” She smiled brightly at him but kept her distance. It had been too many months since she had last seen him in person and, as always, she let him set the boundaries. She was surprised when he placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled her into a brief hug before stepping back.

“Do you have any bags I can carry in?” Andrew asked. His face was red now but a small pleased expression flitted across his face.

“Just the one,” Bee said. “I can manage it.”

Andrew raised one eyebrow and motioned for her to pop the trunk. She sighed and obeyed. He pulled her suitcase out of the car and started hauling it into the house, not waiting for her to follow.

Neil was in the kitchen when she walked inside. She could smell rich tomato sauce and browning meat. Neil stood over the stove, licking sauce off a spoon.

“Hello, Neil,” she said warmly.

Neil looked over and grinned widely before coming over for a hug, longer and tighter than Andrew’s. She could remember the shy, skittish boy she had met so many years ago and sometimes she could hardly believe he was the same person. He had opened his heart, first to Andrew, and then to everyone Andrew loved and she was fiercely proud of him.

Andrew reappeared at her side. “You’re in your regular room,” he said. “Dinner won’t be ready for another hour if you want to rest.”

“Oh, I assumed that would be Lauren’s room now,” Bee said.

“We renovated the basement,” Andrew said. “We wanted to give her a little more privacy. Plus that bedroom will be terribly cramped in a few days.”

“Am I going to meet her soon?” she asked. “I must say I was surprised when you told me you two were adopting.”

Andrew shrugged. “She was meant to be ours.”

Bee smiled softly.

“She’s napping before dinner too,” Neil said. “Or she’s cleaning. She’s been tearing the place apart over the last few days.”

“Neil? Do you have any kitchen laundry to throw in this next load?” A girl’s voice came from behind them.

Bee turned, smile already on her face.

“Oh, you must be Grandma Bee,” the girl, Lauren, said. She was blonde and tiny, no taller than Andrew. Every bit of her was stick thin except for her huge rounded belly that stretched out Andrew’s old Fox hoodie.

“Grandma Bee?” Bee turned to Andrew who snorted and choked on a laugh.

“Oh,” the girl shrunk back. “Is that wrong? I’m so--”

“Not at all!” Bee rushed to reassure her. “It caught me by surprise but that is exactly who I am.”

The girl’s smile came back, although a little subdued. “Um Neil? Laundry?”

“Oh, yes,” Neil turned and pulled a basket out from under the sink. “Thank you.”

Lauren shrugged and disappeared back down the stairs.

“You brat,” Bee grinned, swatting Andrew’s shoulder lightly. “I feel like I just aged two decades in a minute.”

“You think I feel old enough to be the father of a sixteen year old?” Andrew asked, smile pulling at the corner of his lips.

Bee laughed. “I think I will take you up on that nap before dinner. A grandmother needs her sleep.”

* * *

Dinner was a quiet affair. Neil had made lasagna from scratch. For someone who had confessed to her that he never thought he’d make it to adulthood, Neil Josten-Minyard appeared to be adulting just fine.

The cats took up residence under the table, waiting for one of them to drop some of their dinner. Every minute or so one of them would brush past her legs, reminding her that they were there and that their cruel masters had not fed them for at least seven years.

Andrew ignored them. Neil was a softer touch, but he also resisted. Lauren kept picking up small pieces of meat and sticking her hand under the table while looking around guiltily. No one said anything about it.

After dinner, they gathered in the living room. It was a well-lived-in room, covered in cat hair because Sir and King ruled their domain with their furry paws. The walls were covered with pictures of all the Foxes. The only thing that set them apart from the walls of photos from their college years were the frames, but otherwise things were very much the same.

Bee took the armchair. Presumably, that seat usually belonged to King as she immediately curled up in Bee’s lap and went to sleep.

Andrew sat in one corner of the sofa, Neil tucked into his side. Lauren took the other corner and immediately plopped her bare, swollen feet in Neil’s lap. Neil rolled his eyes but dug his thumbs into the arches of her feet.

Lauren turned on the TV with the remote and channel surfed for a bit before stopping on the Food Network where an episode of Chopped was playing.

“Just watch,” Lauren grinned slyly at Bee. “Ten bucks says Neil starts yelling at the TV in less than 5 minutes.”

“Well now that I know you’re betting on me, I’m just not going to do it.” Neil frowned at them both.

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Andrew said, deadpan.

“You’re my husband; you’re supposed to be on my side,” Neil pouted.

Lauren tapped her watch and mouthed, “just wait.”

Sure enough, a little more than 4 minutes later, Neil dropped Lauren’s feet and sat up straight. “I can’t believe it. Why do they always go for the ice cream? I've literally never seen it work out for anyone.”

Bee laughed, delighted and pulled a ten dollar bill out of her wallet, passing it to Lauren. Lauren passed it to Andrew who grabbed a jar full of coins and bills off the end table, labelled in black sharpie with the words, “baby fund,” and stuffed the bill in the top.

Lauren sat back, stealing glances full of laughter at Bee everytime Neil’s outrage won out over his desire to not be laughed at.

It was a good evening.

* * *

Bee had always been an early riser. She was used to getting out of bed and having a good hour or more to herself: just her, her latest novel, and her cup of tea. Neil passed by her as he was heading out for his morning run but they both tended toward silence in the morning and just exchanged wordless nods before going to do their own thing.

She was very surprised to find Lauren in the kitchen when she woke up. Lauren was kneeling in front of the oven and scrubbing at the stains on the door.

“Oh sorry, did I wake you?” Lauren asked, leveraging herself carefully to her feet and throwing her scrubbie in the sink.

“Not at all, dear,” Bee said. “What are you doing up?”

“Hard to sleep in when you’ve got a baby hopping on your bladder. She gets really active around 5 and I just feel better if I get up and do something. I’ll nap in the afternoon if I need it,” Lauren yawned. “Want me to put on the kettle? Neil told me you like a cup of tea in the morning.”

“Oh, let me do that,” Bee insisted, taking the kettle off the stove and filling it in the sink. “I’m used to making my own tea.”

“Breakfast then?” Lauren said. “There’s lots of yoghurt in the fridge. Or I could make eggs.”

“I’ll eat when Andrew gets up. I’ve been looking forward to his pancakes.” Bee smiled and turned on the burner under the kettle. “Would you like to sit with me? I would love to get to know you a little better.”

Lauren grabbed a pot of yoghurt out of the fridge and a jar of salsa. She poured the yoghurt into a bowl and mixed in a healthy spoonful of salsa and sat down at the table with her bowl.

“I don’t know,” Lauren shrugged when she saw the look on Bee’s face. “This baby has some strange tastes. I’m really looking forward to eating like a normal person again.”

“I’ve never been pregnant myself, so I don’t really know what that’s like,” Bee said. The kettle started whistling and Bee pulled it off the heat and poured her cup of tea before joining Lauren at the table.

Lauren rubbed her swollen belly with her left hand and didn’t say anything.

“Neil and Andrew have told me very little about you,” Bee began. “They know the importance of being able to tell their own stories. You absolutely don’t have to tell me anything about where you came from but I promise that I am a safe person if you need someone to talk to.”

Lauren smiled brightly. “Andrew told me you’d say that. It’s not a secret.” Her smile faded and she took a deep breath before continuing. “My parents were killed in a car accident when I was six and they didn’t have any living relatives who were willing to take me so I ended up in the foster system. I bounced around a bunch of homes before landing in the last one before Andrew and Neil. They seemed really nice and were even talking about adopting me. I hadn’t done a lot of dating before because I didn’t want to get too attached and then be moved to a new home but I met a guy at school and decided to finally go for it.

Lauren paused a little to regain her composure before returning to her story. “When I got pregnant, I was really freaked out and I hid it as long as I could. When they found out, they were actually pretty nice about it. They made a bunch of doctor’s appointments and were talking about adopting the baby. They made a really beautiful nursery and everything. But something felt a little off because there were these papers they were always trying to get me to sign and if I asked any questions, they would just brush them off. So I called my social worker and she told me they only wanted to keep my baby and they’d decided to send me back into the system as soon as I gave birth.” Lauren’s voice faltered a little at that.

“I wasn’t going to let that happen,” she continued, powering through “I didn’t feel ready to raise this kid on my own but I also knew I really wanted to be her mother. I had amazing parents who loved me very much and I wanted to make sure my daughter knew what that was like. It was kinda dumb but I was freaking out so I skipped school, packed up what I could, and ran.”

“That must have been very hard,” Bee murmured.

“Oh, it was awful. I was throwing up constantly and I was so hungry all the time. My baby daddy disappeared basically the moment he knocked me up and all the friends I thought I had ghosted me around the same time. I felt like I couldn’t call my social worker for help. Who would want to take me now? I wasn’t about to go back and give up my baby. So one night, I was hanging out in the alley behind Eden’s Twilight, trying to pick up a guy who would buy me a meal in exchange for sex, and Andrew and Neil came out for a smoke. They took me in, no strings attached, helped me call my social worker, who really is a sweetheart and was worried sick when I ran away, and now we’re just waiting for the adoption papers to be finalized.” Lauren scraped out her bowl with her spoon to get the last little bit of yoghurt.

“You’re very lucky,” Bee said.

Lauren cradled her belly gently. “Oh my god, I know. Even when I got here, I could hardly sleep at night. I was so worried it was all a mistake, or that Andrew and Neil would die before the adoption could go through. They sat me down and gave me a list of people, their friends and family, who would take me in if something happened to them. It’s a pretty long list. I haven’t even met them all yet.”

“I hope I am on the list.” Bee reached out her hand to take Lauren’s, eyes prickling with unshed tears.

“At the top,” Lauren said, squeezing tightly.

Andrew walked in then, interrupting their moment. His hair was a riot atop his head and his eyes were only half open as he staggered toward the coffee pot. He ignored them as the smell of fresh brewing coffee filled the kitchen. He poured himself a cup and liberally added cream and sugar before taking a sip. Finally, he turned around, looking much more alert. “Morning.”

Lauren grinned. “Baby wants pancakes,” she said.

“Oh she does, does she,” Andrew asked, rolling his eyes. “Are you sure that decision hasn’t been influenced by my former therapist?”

“Bee wants pancakes,” Bee said, winking at him. Lauren laughed loudly.

Andrew shook his head at the two of them but got out the mixing bowls and the ingredients. “Does anyone want blueberry or am I only making enough for Neil?”

“Chocolate chip for me, dear,” Bee said.

“I want both,” Lauren announced.

“In the same pancake?” Andrew asked, looking positively scandalized.

Lauren shrugged. “What baby wants, baby gets.”

“Fine,” Andrew said, turning back to the counter.

The first batch of pancakes was finished and sitting in a golden stack beside Andrew when Neil returned from his run. He crossed to the stove to peck Andrew on the cheek. Andrew allowed it before wrinkling his nose and gesturing with the spatula toward the bathroom.

Neil laughed but made his way there, detouring briefly to clasp Lauren’s shoulder and coo, “good morning, baby girl,” at her belly.

“The man is obsessed,” Andrew said, once Neil had shut the bathroom door and the shower had come on.

“It’s sweet,” Bee said.

Andrew set the table and served up the pancakes. Neil soon joined them, hair still dripping. For several minutes, there were no sounds at the breakfast table other than chewing. As Bee slowly pushed a chunk of pancake around her plate to gather the last bit of syrup, she noticed Lauren had set her fork down, half a pancake still on her plate. She was breathing slowly and steadily but there was a hint of a wince on her face.

After a minute, she relaxed and she picked up her fork again to finish.

Neil got up to clear the table and Andrew took his turn in the shower. Lauren was still eating slowly, but about five minutes later, she put down her fork again to breath.

“Honey, are you having contractions?” Bee asked in a low voice.

“Braxton-Hicks,” Lauren said, gasping a little. “I’ve had a couple false alarms. But boy, are they ever strong today.”

“Neil, does Lauren have her go-bag ready?” Bee asked.

Neil turned around, eyebrows furrowed. “Yeah, we did that last week after our first false alarm. Why do you?...oh. Oh! Shit. Andrew?!” Neil turned and bolted downstairs.

Andrew jerked open the bathroom door a couple seconds later, towel wrapped around his waist, arm bands haphazardly pulled up to cover most of his forearms. “What the fuck?”

“Andrew, dear, get dressed. You’re going to be a grandpa,” Bee said.

Andrew’s face paled. “Fuck. Are you okay? What do you need?” he asked Lauren.

Lauren looked over at him, face terrified as reality set in. “Uh…”

“Let’s go,” Neil shouted, charging back up the stairs, duffel bag in hand.

“I haven’t installed the car seat yet,” Andrew said, still in shock.

“Neil,” Bee said, taking charge as the only non-panicky person currently in the house. “Why don’t you drive Lauren to the hospital and get her checked in? I’ll wait for Andrew to get dressed and we’ll follow you.”

Neil nodded and escorted a trembling Lauren out to the car.

Andrew just stared at Bee, making no move to follow Neil or to go down the hall to his bedroom. “What do I…”

“Breathe,” Bee said softly. “You’re fine. She’s fine.”

Andrew nodded shakily, closing his eyes and taking several deep breaths. Bee recognized one of the centering exercises she had taught him back in his first year of university. After a long few moments, he went to his bedroom to get dressed.

Bee went outside and waited in her car. Andrew didn’t even argue about getting into the passenger seat.

When they arrived at the hospital, Andrew reached out and grasped her wrist before she could open the door. “What am I even doing?” he asked. “I can’t be in charge of a baby.”

“Why not?” Bee asked.

Andrew laughed emotionlessly. “You know why not. I’m fucked up. It was one thing to take in Lauren. The only thing we had to do to be better than her last foster parents was to not steal her baby. Her...her life...she came to us with baggage and we know how to handle that. How do we make sure this kid doesn’t grow up with the same baggage? Why did we think we wouldn’t fuck up her life?”

“You’re not going to be the perfect parent,” Bee said bluntly. “It’s not possible. All parents, even the really good ones, fuck up sometimes. If you just love her—”

“That’s what I mean,” Andrew interrupted her. “The way I was taught to love is violent and toxic and the only reason I’m not alone is because I found someone almost as fucked up as I am. How do I figure out how to love someone so...new and perfect?”

“You’ll figure it out,” Bee said. “Maybe it won’t be immediate. But you’ll get to know her. You’ll watch her change and grow and soon I think you’ll be surprised at your own capacity to love.”

“How do you know?” Andrew asked softly.

“I have faith in you, Andrew. But also, that’s what you did for me. I hid it pretty well when we met, but I’d had my heart broken years before we met and I didn’t think I would ever heal enough to let someone in. There was a man in my life. We were married and trying for a child. Nothing seemed to work. I miscarried five times and the doctors had no idea what to do. I decided I wasn’t going to try anymore. Eventually, my husband left because he wanted a child more than anything and he wanted me to stop being sad about the children we had already lost.” Bee hovered her hand over Andrew’s where he still gripped her wrist and waited for his nod before she touched him.

“Why didn’t you tell me this before?” Andrew asked.

“It wasn’t so important before.” Bee smiled. “My heart healed and I opened it again, to you. Whatever happened in my past, it brought me to a place where I found you and I learned to love again. You said earlier that Lauren was meant to be yours. Well, I believe this baby is meant to be yours too, just as you were meant to be mine.”

Andrew closed his eyes, trying to hold onto his composure. “Can I hug you?” he asked, voice hoarse.

“Always,” she said. He clutched her tight and she deliberately said nothing as she felt his shoulders shake with sobs.

When he released her and sat back into the passenger seat, his eyes were red but unburdened.

“We should go in,” he said.

“I think it should just be you and Neil for now,” she said. Andrew opened his mouth to protest but she cut him off. “Someone needs to finish the dishes. And you’ll need someone to fetch the car seat. Go be with your family. And text me if you need anything.”

Andrew nodded and smiled a little at her before getting out of the car and dashing into the hospital.

Bee had plenty of time to finish up all the little chores around the house and to finish reading her book before Andrew finally texted her that the baby had arrived.

Neil was waiting for her at the visitor entrance to the hospital and he led her to Lauren’s room. Andrew stood up when she entered, baby in his arms. She could tell by the way he looked down at her and held her carefully that he was already smitten.

“Bee, meet Tristan Elizabeth Minyard-Josten,” Andrew said, voice hushed so as not to wake the baby or the exhausted Lauren.

“She’s perfect,” Bee said.

“Yeah,” Andrew said, wonder stealing across his face. “I love her already.”


End file.
